Ezetap launches point of sale solution for merchants

Bangalore-based mobile payments service provider Ezetap has launched a banking and payments platform for small merchants. According to the company, in addition to dealing with payments, the portable and light-weight ATM like device will also facilitate account opening for end users in collaboration with banks.

The purpose is to insure that more and more people become a part of the banking system of the country. For the same, the company has collaborated with banks like State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank and City Bank.

Priced around Rs 3,000, the device can be plugged into any smart device- smartphone or tablet- used by the retailer. It is capable of processing both credit and debit card transactions. Currently, the company's clientele includes insurance firms, restaurants, online retailers and hotels.

According to Ezetap, the device is India's answer to Square, a US-based payments company. Square also offers a dongle that can be attached to any smartphone to convert it into a device which accepts payments. Founded in 2009 by the duo of Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, the company has raised multiple rounds of funding from Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Citi Venture, among others.

An Angelprime incubated startup, Ezetap was founded by Abhijit Bose (CEO), Bhaktha Keshavachar (CTO), and Sanjay Swamy, former CEO of mChek, a payments company. Earlier this year, it had acquired Clinknow, a loyalty platform that lets merchants create and push real time mobile offers to their customers.

In June this year, the company had entered into a partnership with SBI to deploy five lakh mobile point of sale (POS) devices for merchants across the country in the next five years. It also works in collaboration with companies like Flipkart, Bajaj Allianz, BookMyShow and Shoppers Stop.

Ezetap had raised $8 million in Series B funding from a group of investors led by Helion Advisors along with existing investors Social+Capital Partnership and Nicolas Berggruen's PE fund Berggruen Holdings in Feb 2013.